RESEARCH ARTICLE 117

Development 140, 117-125 (2013) doi:10.1242/dev.082941

© 2013. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B restrains mammary

alveologenesis and secretory differentiation
Emanuela S. Milani1,2, Heike Brinkhaus1, Regula Dueggeli1, Ina Klebba1, Urs Mueller1, Michael Stadler1,3,
Hubertus Kohler1, Matthew J. Smalley4 and Mohamed Bentires-Alj1,*

SUMMARY
Tyrosine phosphorylation plays a fundamental role in mammary gland development. However, the role of specific tyrosine
phosphatases in controlling mammary cell fate remains ill defined. We have identified protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) as
an essential regulator of alveologenesis and lactogenesis. PTP1B depletion increased the number of luminal mammary progenitors
in nulliparous mice, leading to enhanced alveoli formation upon pregnancy. Mechanistically, Ptp1b deletion enhanced the expression
of progesterone receptor and phosphorylation of Stat5, two key regulators of alveologenesis. Furthermore, glands from Ptp1b
knockout mice exhibited increased expression of milk proteins during pregnancy due to enhanced Stat5 activation. These findings
reveal that PTP1B constrains the number of mammary progenitors and thus prevents inappropriate onset of alveologenesis in early
pregnancy. Moreover, PTP1B restrains the expression of milk proteins during pregnancy and thus prevents premature lactogenesis.
Our work has implications for breast tumorigenesis because Ptp1b deletion has been shown to prevent or delay the onset of
mammary tumors.

KEY WORDS: PTP1B (Ptpn1), Stat5, Mammary gland, Stem cell, Progenitor cell, Mouse

INTRODUCTION The mammary gland undergoes functional differentiation

The epithelium of rodent and human mammary glands is
hierarchically organized, encompassing cells at various
differentiation stages (Stingl et al., 2006b; LaBarge et al., 2007;
Visvader, 2009; Visvader and Smith, 2011). The results of serial
transplantation of mammary gland fragments into cleared mouse
mammary fat pad suggested the existence of mammary stem cells
(Deome et al., 1959; Faulkin and Deome, 1960). Direct evidence was
provided by the finding that serial transplantation of fragments from
mouse mammary tumor virus-infected mammary glands yields
clonal outgrowths with the same viral insertion site through five
transplant generations (Kordon and Smith, 1998; Bruno and Smith,
2011). Other studies have used cell surface markers to enrich for, and
isolate, mammary stem cells, progenitor cells, and more
differentiated luminal and myoepithelial cells (Shackleton et al.,
2006; Sleeman et al., 2006; Stingl et al., 2006a; Asselin-Labat et al.,
2007; Regan et al., 2011). Notably, these cell subpopulations display
different functional attributes: mammary stem cells [MaSCs, also
called mammary repopulating units (MRUs)] are able to repopulate
a cleared mammary fat pad. Progenitor cells display a high capacity
for colony formation and proliferation in vitro. By contrast,
terminally differentiated cells are not able to repopulate the
mammary gland or to form colonies in vitro (Shackleton et al., 2006;
Sleeman et al., 2006; Stingl et al., 2006a; Asselin-Labat et al., 2007).
Recent lineage-tracing studies have questioned the existence of adult
multipotent MaSCs and have instead suggested the existence of
unipotent luminal and myoepithelial progenitor cells in the adult
gland (Van Keymeulen et al., 2011).
during pregnancy. In the early stages, epithelial cells undergo
extensive proliferation and form alveoli (alveologenesis)
(Brisken, 2002), while in later stages of pregnancy alveolar cells
secrete milk proteins (lactogenesis) (Neville et al., 2002;
Hennighausen and Robinson, 2005; Brisken and Rajaram, 2006).
Progesterone induces the expansion of MaSCs and the formation
of mammary alveoli via activation of the Rankl (Tnfsf11)
pathway, which in turn elicits the proliferation of epithelial cells
(Asselin-Labat et al., 2010; Joshi et al., 2010). Prolactin (Prl)
controls alveologenesis and lactogenesis via binding to its
receptor [prolactin receptor (Prl-R; Prlr)] and activation of the
Jak2/Stat5 pathway. Activated Stat5 translocates to the nucleus
and induces expression of its target genes (e.g. milk proteins)
(Gouilleux et al., 1994; Wartmann et al., 1996; Groner, 2002).
Although Prl-R, Jak2 and Stat5 are regulated by tyrosine
phosphorylation, little is known about how protein tyrosine
phosphatases regulate this pathway and affect breast cell fate and
differentiation in vivo.
Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B; also known as Ptpn1),
a ubiquitously expressed phosphatase, is an established negative
regulator of insulin and leptin signaling and a leading target for the
treatment of diabetes and obesity (Elchebly et al., 1999; Klaman et
al., 2000). PTP1B is also involved in breast cancer. Whole-body or
mammary-specific deletion of Ptp1b delays or prevents mammary
tumor onset evoked by Her2 (also known as Neu and Erbb2)
(Bentires-Alj and Neel, 2007; Julien et al., 2007; Balavenkatraman
et al., 2011).
DEVELOPMENT

In contrast to its well-studied involvement in metabolism and

1
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstr. 66, 4058 Basel, cancer, the role of PTP1B in breast development remains
Switzerland. 2University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 70, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.
3
Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
unclear. Early in vitro studies suggested that both Jak2 and Stat5
4
European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff are PTP1B substrates (Myers et al., 2001; Aoki and Matsuda,
University, Cardiff CF1 3AX, UK. 2002). In the present study, we asked whether PTP1B controls
*Author for correspondence (bentires@fmi.ch)
mammary cell fate commitment and/or alveologenesis and
lactogenesis in vivo. Using Ptp1b knockout mice, we have found
Accepted 1 October 2012 that PTP1B depletion increases the number of mammary
118 RESEARCH ARTICLE
progenitor cells in nulliparous mice, induces precocious
formation of alveoli, and enhances the expression of milk
proteins during pregnancy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Mice
All animal experiments were performed according to Swiss guidelines
governing animal experimentation and were approved by the Swiss
veterinary authorities. Ptp1b–/– mice (Klaman et al., 2000) were
backcrossed to an FVB background for at least seven generations. Twelve-
week-old female mice were mated and pregnancy scored by the
observation of a vaginal plug and confirmed by the presence of fertilized
eggs or embryos when mammary glands were collected at pregnancy days
3, 7 or 10. Mammary glands from nulliparous mice were collected when
mice were in estrus, as determined by a vaginal plug after an overnight
mating with a male.
Whole-mounts and histological analysis
For whole-mounts and histology, inguinal and thoracic mammary glands
were dissected at the indicated time points. Following fixation with
methacarn solution for 4 hours, tissues were hydrated, stained with
Carmine Alum, and cleared with xylene. After analysis, the tissues were
processed for paraffin sectioning and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin
(H&E).
Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence
Immunohistochemistry was performed on methacarn-fixed or 4%
paraformaldehyde (PFA)-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections using the
following antibodies: Ki67 (Lab Vision), rabbit anti-milk serum (Marte et
al., 1995), pStat5 (Cell Signaling Technology), Stat5 (Santa Cruz
Biotechnology), estrogen receptor (ER; Esr1) (Santa Cruz Biotechnology)
and progesterone receptor (PR; Pgr) (Thermo Scientific).
Immunohistochemistry was carried out with the Discovery XT Staining
Module (Ventana Medical Systems), except for ER and PR
immunohistochemistry, which were performed manually. All sections were
counterstained with Hematoxylin (J.T.Baker). Quantification of pStat5, PR
and ER was performed by counting cells from at least 20 fields at a
magnification of 20⫻ and at least 2000 nuclei per sample. The number of
positive cells was expressed as a percentage of the total number of
Hematoxylin-stained cells. Quantification of epithelial density and
proliferation index were performed on mammary gland sections stained
with periodic acid Schiff (Ventana Medical Systems) and Hematoxylin, and
scanned with Miramax Scan (Carl Zeiss). For epithelial density, the area
covered by epithelial cells (excluding lumen and blood vessels) was
measured and the ratio of epithelial area over total organ area was
calculated using Definiens software as described (Stoelzle et al., 2009). The
same protocol was followed for the proliferation index using the area
covered by Ki67-positive epithelial cells over total area of epithelial cells.
At least three mice per genotype were scanned for each developmental
stage.
Immunofluorescence was performed on 4% PFA-fixed, paraffin-
embedded tissue sections stained with Rankl; tissues were then incubated
with Alexa Fluor 546 anti-goat IgG (Molecular Probes, Invitrogen), stained
with DAPI (Boehringer Mannheim), mounted in ProLong Gold antifade
reagent (Invitrogen), and analyzed with an LSM 700 scanning head and
Zen 2010 software (Carl Zeiss).
Crystal Violet staining was performed on cells grown in 24-well BD
Primaria plates (BD Biosciences). The numbers and sizes of Crystal Violet-
stained colonies per well were quantified using ImagePro software (Media
Cybernetics). Three wells per genotype were examined in four independent
experiments.
Immunoblotting
Protein lysates were extracted from inguinal mammary glands using
RIPA buffer [50 mM Tris pH 7.5, 1% Triton X-100, 150 mM NaCl,
0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS, 5 mM EGTA, 10 mM NaF,
2 mM sodium orthovanadate, 2 mM PMSF and protease inhibitor
cocktail (Pierce)]. Proteins (50 g) were resolved on SDS-PAGE (Bio-
Rad) and transferred to a PVDF membrane (Immobilon-FL, Millipore).
Development 140 (1)
Membranes were blocked in PBS with 5% skimmed milk powder and
incubated with PTP1B (Klaman et al., 2000), pStat5 (Cell Signaling) and
Stat5a (Transduction Laboratories) antibodies. Antibody binding was
visualized by incubation of secondary antibodies comprising Alexa
Fluor 680 anti-mouse IgG, Alexa Fluor 680 anti-rabbit IgG (Molecular
Probes, Invitrogen), IRDye 800 anti-mouse IgG and IRDye 800 anti-
rabbit IgG (Rockland), and examined with an Odyssey infrared imaging
system (Li-Cor Bioscience).
Real-time PCR
Total RNA was isolated from frozen mammary glands using TRIzol
reagent (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer’s instructions and then
treated with the TURBO-DNase Kit (Applied Biosystems). cDNA
synthesis was performed using the Thermoscript RT-PCR system
(Invitrogen). Real-time PCR was performed on 30-60 ng cDNA using the
TaqMan Gene Expression Assay (Applied Biosystems) for Wap
(Mm00839913_m1), -casein (Mm00839664_m1), cytokeratin 18
(Mm01601702_g1), Rankl (Mm00441906_m1), Pr (Mm00435628_m1),
Er (Mm00433149_m1) and Gapdh (Rodent Gapdh Control Reagents VIC
Probe, Applied Biosystems) on an ABI Prism 7000 (Applied Biosystems)
according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Mammary cell preparation, cell sorting and cell culture
Inguinal mammary glands were dissected from 10-week-old virgin females
or pregnant mice at gestation day 10, mechanically disaggregated, and
digested with collagenase (Sigma) and trypsin (Sigma) for 1 hour at 37°C
(Sleeman et al., 2006). The resulting organoids were processed to single-
cell suspensions by digestion with HyQTase (HyClone) for 10-15 minutes
at 37°C and filtered through a 40-m cell strainer (Falcon). Cells were
stained as previously described (Sleeman et al., 2006) with the following
antibodies: FITC-CD24, PE-CD49f (Itga6), PE-Cy7-CD45 (Ptprc)
(Pharmingen), APC-Sca1 (Ly6a), biotinylated-CD61 (Itgb3) (Biolegend)
and streptavidin-PE-Cy5.5 (eBioscience). FACS analysis and cell sorting
were carried out on a MoFlo cell sorter (Beckman Coulter).
Colony-forming assays were performed by plating freshly sorted cells
(500 cells) on irradiated 3T3-L1 feeder cells in Multiwell BD Primaria
plates for 7 days in DMEM/Ham’s F12 mix (Invitrogen) with 10% fetal
calf serum, 100 IU/ml penicillin, 100 g/ml streptomycin (Invitrogen), 5
g/ml bovine pancreatic insulin (Sigma, cell culture tested solution) and
10 ng/ml cholera toxin (Sigma). Aldefluor assay was performed according
to the manufacturer’s instructions (Stemcell Technologies).
Hormone treatment
Six-week-old female mice were ovariectomized and treated 10 days later
every 24 hours by subcutaneous injection of 17-estradiol (Sigma; 4 ng/g
body weight) in corn oil (Sigma) and sacrificed 48 hours later. For
treatment with estrogen and progesterone, ovariectomized mice were
injected with 17-estradiol and 48 hours later injected with 17-estradiol
plus progesterone (Sigma; 100 g/g body weight) daily for 72 hours.
Chemicals
NVP-BSK805 (Novartis, Switzerland) was freshly prepared in NMP/PEG
300/Solutol HS15 (5%/80%/15%). Twelve-week-old mice were treated
every 24 hours by oral gavage (120 mg/kg body weight) for 5 consecutive
days. Glands were collected and fixed 4 hours after the final treatment.
Microarray analysis
RNA was isolated from three biological replicates per condition using
the RNeasy Plus Mini Kit (Qiagen) according to the manufacturer’s
instructions. RNA concentration was measured using a NanoDrop 1000
DEVELOPMENT
and the quality of the RNA assessed using the Agilent 2100 bioanalyzer
and RNA Nano Chip. Aliquots (100 ng) of extracted total RNA were
amplified using the Ambion WT Expression Kit and the resulting sense-
strand cDNA was fragmented and labeled using the Affymetrix
GeneChip WT Terminal Labeling Kit. Affymetrix GeneChip arrays were
hybridized following the GeneChip Whole Transcript (WT) Sense Target
Labeling Assay Manual (Affymetrix) with a hybridization time of 16
hours. The Affymetrix Fluidics protocol FS450_0007 was used for
washing. Scanning was performed with Affymetrix GCC Scan Control
PTP1B constrains mammary gland differentiation RESEARCH ARTICLE 119

version 3.0.0.1214 on a GeneChip Scanner 3000 with autoloader. Probe

sets were summarized and probeset level values normalized with the
justRMA() function from the R (version 2.12.0)/Bioconductor (version
2.6) package affy using the CDF environment MoGene-1_0-st-v1.r3.cdf
(as provided by Bioconductor). Differentially expressed genes were
identified using the R package limma (Gentleman et al., 2004) and by
selecting genes with a minimum absolute log2 fold change of 1.5 and
P<0.05, using the method of Benjamini and Hochberg for multiple
testing correction. Microarray data are available at GEO under accession
number GSE41768.

Statistical analysis
Statistical significance was determined by two-tailed Student’s t-test. For
FACS analysis, a paired two-tailed Student’s t-test was performed.

RESULTS
Ptp1b deletion accelerates alveologenesis
Tyrosine phosphorylation plays an important role in mammary
gland alveologenesis. To determine whether PTP1B regulates this
process, we analyzed mammary glands of PTP1B-deficient and
wild-type (WT) female mice at different developmental stages.
Whole-mounts and histological analysis showed significant
changes in the structure of PTP1B-depleted compared with control
glands (Fig. 1A). In nulliparous mice at estrus, H&E and Ki67
staining revealed a twofold increase in epithelial cell density and
threefold more Ki67-positive cells in glands lacking PTP1B than
in WT glands (Fig. 1B-D). During early stages of pregnancy,
Ptp1b–/– glands showed an overall increase in the number of
epithelial cells and alveolar structures (Fig. 1B,C). These results
demonstrate that PTP1B constrains cell proliferation and
alveologenesis during estrus and early pregnancy.

Increased progenitor cell number in mammary

glands from Ptp1b–/– mice
To test whether the enhanced epithelial density found in PTP1B-
deficient mice is a consequence of an increase in the
stem/progenitor cell subpopulations, we characterized mammary
epithelial cells (MECs) from Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/– mice
phenotypically using Sca1, CD24 and CD49f markers (Sleeman et
al., 2006; Stingl et al., 2006a), which have been shown to enrich
for MaSCs (CD24lo Sca1– CD49f+), luminal progenitor cells
(CD24hi CD61+), more differentiated luminal cells (CD24hi CD61–)
and myoepithelial cells (CD24lo CD49flo) (Asselin-Labat et al.,
2007; Sleeman et al., 2007). We found no significant differences in
the proportion of MECs bearing the stem cell phenotype (CD24lo
Sca1– CD49f+) or in the proportions of total luminal epithelial cells
(CD24hi Sca1– and CD24hi Sca1+) in Ptp1b–/– versus Ptp1b+/+ mice
(Fig. 2A; supplementary material Fig. S1A). Limiting dilution
transplantation experiments showed no difference in the capacities
of Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+ MECs to repopulate the mammary gland
and, thus, that Ptp1b ablation does not alter the properties of
mammary repopulating cells (supplementary material Fig. S1B).
We then investigated whether Ptp1b deletion alters mammary
colony-forming capacity (Stingl et al., 2006a). Freshly isolated
MECs from Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/– glands were cultured on feeder
Fig. 1. Alveolar development is accelerated in PTP1B-deficient
mammary glands. (A) Whole-mounts of Ptp1b–/– mammary tissues
showing precocious alveolar formation compared with Ptp1b+/+ mice.
Boxed regions are magnified in images on the right. (B) H&E-stained
histological sections of Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/– mammary tissues. (C) The
percentages of epithelial cells in Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/– glands from
nulliparous mice at estrus. (D) (Left) Ki67-stained histological sections.
(Right) Proliferating (Ki67+) cells as a percentage of total epithelial cells
per gland. Pregnancy day 0 (P0) refers to nulliparous mice at estrus.
Error bars indicate mean ± s.e.m.; *P<0.05 by Student’s t-test; C,D,
n=4. Scale bars: 1 mm in A; 100 m in B,D.
(Asselin-Labat et al., 2007). We found a significant increase in the
CD24hi CD61+ population in Ptp1b–/– MECs compared with
Ptp1b+/+ MECs (29.63% CD24hi CD61+ cells in Ptp1b–/– MECs
versus 19.86% in Ptp1b+/+ MECs) (Fig. 2C).
Several studies have suggested that high aldehyde
dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity is a property of stem and/or
DEVELOPMENT

cells and the number of colonies quantified. Ptp1b–/– MECs formed
approximately twice as many colonies as Ptp1b+/+ MECs, which
suggested an increase in progenitor cells in glands lacking PTP1B
(Fig. 2B). Furthermore, the colonies formed by Ptp1b–/– MECs
were larger (Fig. 2B), consistent with our results showing increased
proliferation in glands from Ptp1b–/– compared with Ptp1b+/+ mice
(Fig. 1D). The increase in progenitor cell number was further tested
by FACS analysis for CD61, an epithelial progenitor marker
progenitor cells in human and mouse mammary tissues (Ginestier
et al., 2007; Cohn et al., 2010; Eirew et al., 2012). Using the
Aldefluor assay, we found a higher ALDH activity in MECs from
Ptp1b–/– than Ptp1b+/+ mice (supplementary material Fig. S1C),
further supporting an increase in the proportion of mammary
progenitor cells in PTP1B-deficient glands. Together, these results
show that PTP1B restrains the number of mammary progenitor
cells in nulliparous mice.
120 RESEARCH ARTICLE
PTP1B negatively regulates ER activity
To investigate the molecular mediators of the observed increase
in epithelial density and mammary progenitors in mammary
glands from Ptp1b–/– mice, we performed gene expression
profiling of Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+ glands from mice at estrus.
The absence of PTP1B increased the expression of several
components of the cell cycle machinery: including cyclin B2,
cyclin A2, cyclin-dependent kinase 1 and topoisomerase 2A
(Fig. 3A; supplementary material Fig. S2A, Table S1). These
results, combined with the increased proliferation observed by
immunohistochemistry (Fig. 1D), support a role for PTP1B in
the regulation of epithelial cell proliferation.
Further, analysis of the expression profiles of Ptp1b–/– and
Ptp1b+/+ glands revealed increased expression of several estrogen-
responsive genes (supplementary material Fig. S2A): Pr,
amphiregulin, Expi (Wfdc18), Egr2 and c-Myb. Furthermore,
quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry analysis revealed
an increase in PR expression in glands lacking PTP1B (Fig. 3B,C).
Similarly, we found increased expression of Rankl, an established
downstream target of PR (Fata et al., 2000; Beleut et al., 2010), in
glands deficient in PTP1B (Fig. 3B; supplementary material Fig.
S2B). These data suggest that PR-induced expression of Rankl
Development 140 (1)
Fig. 2. PTP1B depletion increases the
proportion of mammary progenitors.
(A) (Top row, left) Flow cytometry dot plots of
mammary epithelial cells (MECs) from nulliparous
mice at estrus. Luminal cells: CD24hi Sca1+ and
CD24hi Sca1–. Basal cells: CD24lo Sca1–. (Top
row, right) The percentages of luminal and basal
cell subpopulations of MECs from Ptp1b+/+ and
Ptp1b–/– nulliparous mice at estrus. (Bottom row,
left) Dot plots of myoepithelial (CD24lo Sca1–
CD49f–) and mammary stem cell (MaSC) (CD24lo
Sca1– CD49f+) populations. (Bottom row, right)
The percentages of myoepithelial and MaSC
populations of Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/– glands from
nulliparous mice at estrus. Error bars indicate
mean ± s.e.m. (n=6). (B) (Left) Colony formation
assay of MECs from nulliparous mice at estrus.
Scale bar: 1 mm. (Right) The number of Ptp1b+/+
and Ptp1b–/– colonies. Small refers to colonies
<8000 m2 and big to colonies >8000 m2
(n=4, **P<0.01 by Student’s t-test). (C) (Left)
Flow cytometry dot plots of luminal cells (CD24hi
Sca1+ and CD24hi Sca1–) of MECs from
nulliparous mice at estrus stained for the
progenitor marker CD61. (Right) The
percentages of CD61+ and CD61– populations of
Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+ MECs. Error bars indicate
mean ± s.e.m. (n=4, **P<0.01 by paired two-
tailed Student’s t-test).
might account for the increased number of MECs observed in
glands from Ptp1b–/– mice.
We then tested whether overexpression of ER and/or estrogen
accounts for the increased transcription of ER targets in glands from
Ptp1b–/– mice, but found no difference in ER expression between
Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+ glands (Fig. 3B,C) and no difference in plasma
levels of estrogen between Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+ mice at estrus
(supplementary material Fig. S3A). Further analysis showed no
differences in the plasma levels of progesterone in Ptp1b–/– and
Ptp1b+/+ mice (supplementary material Fig. S3A). Thus, Ptp1b
deletion appears to increase mammary cell proliferation by
enhancing the responsiveness of the mammary gland to normal
levels of circulating estrogen and progesterone. To test this
possibility directly, we assessed the effects of 17-estradiol treatment
DEVELOPMENT
alone or in combination with progesterone on Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+
mice that were previously depleted of endogenous steroid hormones
by ovariectomy. Treatment with 17-estradiol for 48 hours increased
the expression of PR in glands from Ptp1b–/– ovariectomized mice
compared with ovariectomized WT littermates (Fig. 3D). These data
show that Ptp1b deletion increases ER activity in nulliparous glands.
Furthermore, treatment of Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+ mice with 17-
estradiol and progesterone for 72 hours resulted in enhanced
PTP1B constrains mammary gland differentiation
Fig. 3. Absence of PTP1B increases the expression of cell cycle
and estrogen-responsive genes. (A) Fold changes in Cdk1 and
Ccnb2 mRNA as assessed by quantitative real-time PCR. (B) Er, Pr and
Rankl mRNA fold changes as assessed by quantitative real-time PCR.
(C) (Left) ER- and PR-stained sections of mammary glands from
nulliparous mice at estrus. (Right) The percentages of PR- and ER-
positive epithelial cells. (D) (Top) Mammary glands from ovariectomized
(OVX) mice treated (or otherwise) with 17-estradiol (+E) for 48 hours
and stained for PR. (Bottom) The percentages of PR-positive epithelial
cells in 17-estradiol-treated glands (22 images from two mice per
genotype were quantified). (E) (Top) Mammary glands from
ovariectomized mice treated with 17-estradiol alone (+E) or together
with progesterone (E+P) for 72 hours and stained for Ki67. (Bottom)
The percentages of Ki67-positive epithelial cells in the 17-estradiol
plus progesterone-treated glands (30 images from four mice per
genotype were quantified). Error bars indicate mean ± s.e.m.; *P<0.05,
**P<0.01 by Student’s t-test; A-C, n=3. Scale bars: 50 m.
expression of Rankl and proliferation of Ptp1b–/– epithelial cells
compared with WT (Fig. 3E; supplementary material Fig. S2B).
Thus, PTP1B restrains epithelial cell proliferation by negatively
regulating ER activity and PR expression.
PTP1B depletion increases Stat5 phosphorylation
Genetic depletion of Stat5 revealed that this transcription factor
enhances the proliferation of epithelial cells in response to
estrogen and progesterone stimuli, increases the number of
RESEARCH ARTICLE 121
Fig. 4. Absence of PTP1B increases Stat5 phosphorylation. (A)
(Top) Mammary gland sections from nulliparous mice at estrus stained
for pStat5 and Stat5. (Bottom) The percentage of cells positive for
nuclear pStat5. Error bars indicate mean ± s.e.m.; n=4; **P<0.01 by
Student’s t-test. (B) Mammary gland sections from NVP-BSK805-treated
mice stained for pStat5, Stat5 or Ki67. Scale bars: 50 m.
mammary luminal progenitor cells, and promotes alveologenesis
(Miyoshi et al., 2001; Cui et al., 2004; Yamaji et al., 2009). The
in vitro data suggesting Stat5 as a potential PTP1B substrate
(Aoki and Matsuda, 2002) raise the possibility that Stat5 is
hyperactivated in glands lacking PTP1B. To test this, we stained
control and Ptp1b knockout glands for Stat5 and phosphorylated
DEVELOPMENT
Stat5 (pStat5) and found a dramatic increase in pStat5 in the
absence of PTP1B (Fig. 4A). We then tested whether Jak2/Stat5
inhibition blocks the increased epithelial cell proliferation
observed in Ptp1b–/– glands. Treatment of Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+
mice with NVP-BSK805 [a selective Jak2 inhibitor that results
in Stat5 dephosphorylation (Baffert et al., 2010)] inhibited Stat5
phosphorylation and, notably, significantly reduced proliferation
in Ptp1b–/– glands (Fig. 4B).
122 RESEARCH ARTICLE
We next investigated whether overexpression of Prl and/or Prl-
R or hyperphosphorylation of Jak2 accounts for the increased
pStat5 in glands from Ptp1b–/– mice. We found no difference in the
plasma levels of Prl, in Prl-R expression or in Jak2 expression
and phosphorylation between Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+ glands
(supplementary material Fig. S3A-D). This suggests that PTP1B
acts via the Stat5 pathway in constraining epithelial cell
proliferation.
PTP1B depletion accelerates mammary gland
differentiation during pregnancy
We next assessed the consequences of Ptp1b deletion on mammary
gland development at later stages of pregnancy. Similar to the
phenotype at pregnancy day 3 (Fig. 1A,B), whole-mounts and
H&E staining of glands showed that the absence of PTP1B also
results in the increased formation of alveolar structures at
pregnancy days 7 and 10 (Fig. 5A-C).
FACS analysis of MECs isolated from Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/–
mice at pregnancy day 10 showed an increase in the luminal
CD24hi Sca1– population, which is enriched in milk-expressing
cells (Sleeman et al., 2006). No changes were observed in the other
Development 140 (1)
subpopulations (Fig. 5D). Furthermore, histological analysis
revealed that the alveolar structures in Ptp1b–/– but not Ptp1b+/+
glands were precociously distended, displayed lipid droplets and
expressed milk proteins, which are all characteristics of
differentiated alveoli (Fig. 5A,B, Fig. 6A). Given the higher
number of alveoli in glands lacking PTP1B, the observed increase
in milk protein expression might be caused by enhanced expression
and/or by an increase in the number of milk-producing cells. To
distinguish these possibilities, we assessed expression of the genes
encoding the early pregnancy milk protein -casein and the late
pregnancy milk protein whey acidic protein (Wap), normalized to
the expression of epithelial markers cytokeratin 8 and 18 in glands
from control and Ptp1b–/– mice. PTP1B-depleted alveoli not only
expressed milk proteins precociously but also expressed a higher
level of milk proteins per cell. PTP1B depletion resulted in 5.5-fold
and 4.9-fold increases in the levels of -casein and Wap,
respectively (Fig. 6B; data not shown).
Next, we assessed the molecular mechanism underlying the
precocious lactogenesis seen in Ptp1b–/– glands. Immunoblotting
revealed increased phosphorylation of Stat5, a well-established
inducer of milk protein expression during pregnancy (Wakao et al.,
Fig. 5. Precocious secretory differentiation in
PTP1B-deficient mammary glands. (A) Whole-
mounts of Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/– mammary tissues at
pregnancy days 7 and 10. Boxed regions are magnified
in images on the right. (B) H&E-stained histological
sections of Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/– mammary tissues at
pregnancy days 7 and 10. The arrow points to lipid
droplets. (C) The percentages of alveolar cells in
Ptp1b+/+ and Ptp1b–/– glands at pregnancy days 7 and
10. (D) (Top row) Dot plots (left) and percentages (right)
of luminal (CD24hi Sca1+ and CD24hi Sca1–) and basal
(CD24lo Sca1–) cell populations from Ptp1b–/– and
Ptp1b+/+ glands at pregnancy day 10. (Bottom row) Dot
plots (left) and percentages (right) of myoepithelial
(CD24lo Sca1– CD49f–) and stem cell (CD24lo Sca1–
CD49f+) populations. Error bars indicate mean ± s.e.m.;
*P<0.05 by Student’s t-test; C, n=4; D, n=3. Scale bars:
1 mm in A; 100 m in B.
DEVELOPMENT
PTP1B constrains mammary gland differentiation
1994; Liu et al., 1997), in PTP1B-deficient glands compared with
controls (Fig. 6C). To exclude the possibility that the observed
changes in pStat5 were due to changes in the stroma and not in
epithelial cells, we performed immunostaining against pStat5. We
found that pStat5 in epithelial cells of glands lacking PTP1B was
markedly increased (Fig. 6D). We then tested whether Jak2
expression and/or phosphorylation is altered in glands lacking PTP1B
and found no difference in pJak2 between Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+
glands at pregnancy day 10 (supplementary material Fig. S3C,D).
To investigate whether Ptp1b deletion affects involution, we
analyzed glands from Ptp1b–/– and Ptp1b+/+ mice 5 days after
cessation of suckling and observed no differences (supplementary
material Fig. S3E).
These data show that PTP1B depletion precociously increases
Stat5 phosphorylation, thus triggering the expression of milk
proteins. This suggests that PTP1B expression constrains
lactogenesis during pregnancy.
DISCUSSION
Tight regulation of mammary alveologenesis and lactogenesis is
fundamental for lactating species. In this study, we have shown that
RESEARCH ARTICLE 123
Fig. 6. Activation of Stat5 induces
precocious lactogenesis in Ptp1b–/– glands.
(A) (Left) Mammary gland sections stained for
expression of total milk proteins. (Right) Milk
protein-expressing alveoli as a percentage of
total alveoli per gland. (B) Fold changes in -
casein and Wap mRNA from mice as assessed
by quantitative real-time PCR. P0, nulliparous
mice at estrus; P7 and P10, pregnancy day 7
and pregnancy day 10. (C) Immunoblots of
lysates from glands as indicated (top) and the
ratio of pStat5/Stat5 (bottom). (D) Mammary
gland sections stained for Stat5 and pStat5 at
pregnancy day 10. Error bars indicate mean ±
s.e.m.; *P<0.05, **P<0.01 by Student’s t-test;
A, n=4; B,C, n=3. Scale bars: 50 m.
the tyrosine phosphatase PTP1B constrains these important
processes. Alveologenesis is a developmental program
characterized by the expansion and differentiation of mammary
progenitor cells into alveolar cells. Loss of PTP1B increases the
number of progenitor cells in nulliparous mice. This enhances the
pool of cells able to generate alveolar structures and, thus, results
in the increased alveolar density observed in Ptp1b–/– glands during
early pregnancy.
Several factors influence mammary gland alveologenesis.
Mechanistically, we found that lack of PTP1B induces the
expression of several estrogen-responsive genes in nulliparous
glands, including Pr and its downstream target Rankl. PR plays a
key role in epithelial cell proliferation and alveolar formation
DEVELOPMENT
during early pregnancy (Lydon et al., 1995; Brisken et al., 1998;
Mulac-Jericevic et al., 2003; Obr and Edwards, 2012). Therefore,
the precocious alveolar development observed in Ptp1b–/– glands
might be mediated by the overexpression and activation of PR,
which then precociously initiates alveologenesis.
Estrogen and progesterone have been shown to regulate the
number and/or activity of MaSCs via a paracrine mechanism
involving the Rank and Wnt pathways (Asselin-Labat et al., 2010;
124 RESEARCH ARTICLE
Joshi et al., 2010; Axlund and Sartorius, 2012). In glands lacking
PTP1B, we observed an increase in ER and PR activity associated
with an increase in the number and activity of progenitor cells but
not of MaSCs. The discrepancy between our results and those
reported previously might be due to differences in the degrees of
ER and PR activation in the two models.
In addition to increasing PR expression, PTP1B depletion
increased the phosphorylation of Stat5, a key regulator of
mammary luminal progenitor cells and alveologenesis (Yamaji et
al., 2009), suggesting that PTP1B restrains the number of
mammary progenitor cells and regulates alveologenesis via Stat5
dephosphorylation. Stat5 has been shown to promote the
proliferation of epithelial cells in response to estrogen and
progesterone stimuli, which indicated that they act in a common
pathway (Miyoshi et al., 2001; Cui et al., 2004). Conceivably,
PTP1B depletion increases ER activity and PR expression, which
in turn activates Stat5 and leads to increased alveologenesis. In
vitro studies have demonstrated that PTP1B can directly
dephosphorylate Stat5 (Myers et al., 2001), raising an alternative
possibility that lack of PTP1B independently increases PR
expression via ER and Stat5 phosphorylation. These two
possibilities are not mutually exclusive.
But how does lack of PTP1B increase ER activity? In vitro
studies have shown that PTP1B dephosphorylates ER at tyrosine
537, a residue known to inhibit estrogen binding and to reduce
transcriptional activity of ER when phosphorylated (Arnold
et al., 1997). These data raise the possibility that PTP1B activates
the estrogen pathway by regulating the phosphorylation of ER.
Our results also support a role for PTP1B in lactogenesis.
PTP1B depletion induces the precocious expression of milk
proteins due to an increase in Stat5 phosphorylation. Indeed, Stat5
is a well-established regulator of lactogenesis, mediating Prl-
induced milk expression (Wakao et al., 1994; Liu et al., 1997).
Taken together, our results suggest a role for PTP1B as a temporal
regulator of mammary gland development that downregulates the
progesterone and Stat5 pathway(s) and thus prevents the
inappropriate onset of alveologenesis and lactogenesis during
pregnancy.
Mammary gland development and differentiation are regulated
by a complex mechanism involving several different pathways
(Hennighausen and Robinson, 2005; Brisken and O’Malley, 2010).
We cannot exclude the possibility that PTP1B acts via other
pathways in constraining mammary gland alveologenesis and
lactogenesis. For example, PTP1B is a well-known regulator of the
insulin and leptin pathways in other organs, and mice lacking
PTP1B are insulin and leptin hypersensitive (Elchebly et al., 1999;
Klaman et al., 2000). In the light of reports of a role for insulin,
Igf1 and Igf2 in mammary gland morphogenesis (Kleinberg et al.,
2000; Brisken et al., 2002; Hovey et al., 2003; Berlato and Doppler,
2009), PTP1B might also regulate mammary gland morphogenesis
via its inhibitory effects on these pathways.
Epidemiological studies have shown that early menarche, late
menopause and late age of first pregnancy are all risk factors for
developing sporadic breast cancer (Medina, 2005). Conversely,
early full-term pregnancy (<24 years) decreases lifetime breast
cancer risk. Clearly, the hormonal milieu and breast development
cycles, possibly through changes in the differentiation state of
breast stem/progenitor cells, affect the susceptibility of the breast
to oncogenic transformation. Our finding that Ptp1b deletion
induces precocious differentiation of the mammary gland raises the
possibility that the cells of origin of Her2-evoked mammary tumors
are decreased in Ptp1b–/– mice. This would explain why deletion
Development 140 (1)
of Ptp1b delays or prevents mammary tumor formation in MMTV-
NeuNT and MMTV-NDL1 mice (Bentires-Alj and Neel, 2007;
Julien et al., 2007; Balavenkatraman et al., 2011). An exploration
of this possibility is now warranted.
Acknowledgements
We thank J. Regan (Institute of Cancer Research, Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Research, UK) for help with the MEC isolation and FACS sorting; B. Neel
(BIDMC/Harvard Medical School, Ontario Cancer Institute) for providing Ptp1b
knockout mice; T. Radimerski and C. Pissot-Soldermann (NIBR) for supplying
NVP-BSK805; A. Doelemeyer (NIBR) for quantification of mammary epithelial
density; S. Bichet (FMI) for immunohistochemistry; T. Rolof (FMI) for microarray
analysis; and S. Sarret (FMI) as well as further members of the M.B.-A.
laboratory for advice and discussions.
Funding
Research in the laboratory of M.B.-A. is supported by the Novartis Research
Foundation and the European Research Council [ERC Starting Grant 243211-
PTPsBDC].
Competing interests statement
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Supplementary material
Supplementary material available online at
http://dev.biologists.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1242/dev.082941/-/DC1
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